In your church, is love a concept or a reality? Is it unconditional, as it must be, or does it have “terms and conditions” tied to what you call love. True love is a "choice" and a commitment that we make to do good to others; it is not a "feeling." Feelings will only confuse you, cloud your judgement and feelings always create unrealistic and unattainable expectations.
If love is the greatest commandment, it should be our first priority. Love hopes for and believes the best in others. It is demonstrated through our actions and our words. The Bible is clear: If you have not love, it profits you nothing (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:3). You can be well read in all sixty-six books of the Bible, preach with the best and have a Ph.D. in theology, but if you don't have love, you have nothing.
Are difficult truths neglected, watered-down, or avoided in the hope of "not offending"? Ironically, churches that are "all about love" forget the other side of the coin: judgment is never mentioned; repentance is never sought; and sin is often excused. They want to build a church rather than break a heart; be politically correct rather than biblically correct; coddle and comfort rather than stir and convict. This leaves people confused and deceived because they believe in a cross-less Christianity that bears no resemblance to Jesus' sobering call to repentance. Christianity only makes sense in light of the consequences of sin. The good news about Christ can only be appreciated with the bad news as the backdrop. There are times when the saints must be fed, and there are times when the sinners must be warned.
Church leaders, teachers and pastors must find the balance—preach the difficult truths as well as the joyful ones; preach the cross and the new life; preach hell and preach heaven; preach damnation and preach salvation; preach sin and preach grace; preach wrath and preach love; preach judgment and preach mercy; preach obedience and preach forgiveness; preach that God "is love," but don't forget that God is just. Ironically, it's the love of God that compels us to share all of His truth, including those things that are hard to hear.
Although disheartening, this trend away from God's Word (absolute truth) is not surprising. The apostle Paul warned... "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine [God's Word], but according to their own desires ... they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4). If this isn't exactly what’s happening in the church of today, then we need to wake up and see the situation as it really is.
Churches die in many ways, and often its the membership who act in subtle rebellion against God that spur it decline. One unkind act that comes wrapped with a godly façade, is that if something is not going the way certain members think it ought to go at church, then they intentionally withhold giving in protest. The thought behind this act is that when the church is drained of financial resources, it will be easier to change the direction of the ministry. It is couched in sayings like, “God doesn’t want me to give to support that,” or “I’ll just designate my giving to support missions.”
These ideas are neither sound thinking, reasonable and certainly never justified. Withholding giving is an act of selfishness, and a lack of fear of the God to whom we are giving, and a desire for personal control. Certainly the church will expire without ample resources to continue its ministry. A better approach would be to give sacrificially, to give more than you normally give in order to help the church sustain its works during hard times. With sacrificial giving the Lord is pleased, and he can pour out mercy on your church from his riches in heaven.
Maybe members who enjoy stirring things up, grumbling and pitting one group against another, just ought to grow up! Listen to what the Bible says about your attitude... “Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door” (James 5:9). The Lord hates grumbling (Exodus 16:7; Numbers 14:27; 1 Corinthians 1:10). By focusing on perceived wrongs rather than your personal faithfulness to the Lord, grumbling kills any excitement, passion, and hope in the Lord and his church.
All grumbling is against the Lord, who is the head of his church. A godly course would be to avoid corrupt speech, looking for edifying words of grace (Ephesians 4:29).
Only God’s Spirit can bring the life of the gospel back into the church. Only the Holy Spirit can revive hearts to produce endurance, selflessness, sacrificial living, and gracious speech. Therefore, make prayer the strong practice of a declining church. Gather with members weekly to ask the Lord to rescue his church and use you to reach your community with the gospel for his glory.
Remember... YOU are responsible for a church in decline. YOU are the church. God’s people are His Church. So, if it seems like things are not going well in your church family, then look in the mirror and take your share of personal responsibility for what is happening. Be part of the solution and not the problem and cause of decline.
